Spring, winter, spring again

Last posting I told you how cold it was here in Northern California. It was. The day after I posted that the temperature shot up to a surprising 80 degrees, almost 20 degrees above normal. The following week the weather was a little above normal and really just lovely. Yesterday the temperatures dropped back to 10 degrees below normal and I was cold all day; we had just barely missed a serious frost the night before. Had it come it would have been a disaster to the budding grape vines. Goodness knows the growers don't need any more bad turns after the last very terrible year.

Everything has started to bloom. We have gone past the "yellow season" and into more colors. The camellias, above, are giving a great show this year. The countryside is covered with the pink and white apple blossoms. I do think Spring may actually have come.

Onion update. The sets I bought from Johnny's are doing fine. I have clipped them and they sprout right up again. The next test will be if they bulb up. When the warm weather sets in we shall see. For the most part the seedlings I set out have failed. Weather? Me? I can find a few but even those don't seem to be getting anywhere. I have more to set out, we will see if the timing makes a difference.

Recipe

Spring brings thoughts of lettuce. In my garden the winter lettuce is almost gone and the new lettuce isn't very big yet.
This recipe is not really for garden lettuce. Iceberg is preferable; Romaine could be used.

It is a  wonder that we do not usually eat lettuce as a vegetable. The French eat cooked lettuce and the Chinese make great use of it ... in China. I have never seen it in a Chinese restaurant in this country. I suspect the proprietors of same try hard to appease their customers. Why else did I find Baguettes and butter in that Chinese restaurant just outside Boston? Gloria Bley Miller's definitive Chinese cookbook, The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook has several recipes for cooked lettuce and I don't remember that any of them involved using the lettuce as a container.
This recipe may look long and involved but I do think you could get it done in about 20 to 30 minutes the first time and a lot faster after you have done it once.

Lettuce with Shrimp, Chinese Style

1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 nickel size slices of ginger, minced

3-4 scallions
1 medium size Iceberg lettuce

2 teaspoons Shao Hsing wine (or dry sherry)
1/8 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons unflavored oil, grapeseed is nice
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (or 1/4 teaspoon black pepper)
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:
Preparation

Set platter in a warm place

Blot off excess moisture from shrimp and place in a bowl, add cornstarch and ginger and toss to coat.

Cut scallions diagonally into 1 inch pieces.

Pull apart the head lettuce and roughly tear into three to four inch squares.

Mix together the broth and the wine.

Now you have done all the work. From here on it is  just a matter of putting it together.

Heat a wok, or a large skillet, over medium heat. Add oils. Add the garlic. Heat, stirring, until the garlic starts to take on color and has flavored the oil. Remove the garlic and discard. Into the skillet add shrimp, salt, sugar and peppers. Stir fry for about 1 minute. Shrimp will be just barely pink.

Remove shrimp to a warm place. Add lettuce and scallions to skillet and stir to coat. Cook for about 1 minute more. Return the shrimp to the skillet and finish cooking, about 1 minute more. Turn  the heat to high and add the stock and wine. Spoon the lettuce onto the warm platter, top with the shrimp and continue cooking the liquid until it is reduced. Pour over the shrimp and serve immediately.

Shao Hsing wine is quite inexpensive, usually way under $3. It adds a quality to this dish that sherry does not and is worth looking for. Put the cap back on and it keeps in the pantry for about forever. To pronounce it .... Shao rhymes with what you say when you get hurt, "Ow", and Hsing is "sing".